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The ''Rutland Herald'' is the second largest daily newspaper in the
U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
state of Vermont (after ''
The Burlington Free Press ''The Burlington Free Press'' (sometimes referred to as "BFP" or "the Free Press") is a digital and print community news organization based in Burlington, Vermont, and owned by Gannett. It is one of the official "newspapers of record" for the St ...
''). It is published in Rutland. With a daily circulation of about 12,000, it is the main source of news geared towards the southern part of the state, along with the ''
Brattleboro Reformer The ''Brattleboro Reformer'' is the third-largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont. With a weekday circulation of just over 10,000, it is behind the ''Burlington Free Press'' and the ''Rutland Herald'', respectively. It publishes six ...
'' and the ''
Bennington Banner ''The Bennington Banner'' is a daily newspaper published in Bennington, Vermont. The paper covers local, national, and world news. It is distributed throughout Southwestern Vermont and eastern New York (Rensselaer and Washington Counties). The pa ...
''. The ''Rutland Herald'' is the sister paper of the ''
Barre Montpelier Times Argus The ''Barre Montpelier Times Argus'' is a daily morning newspaper serving the capital region of Vermont. It was established in 1897. The newspaper claims that "80% of all adults in the Barre/Montpelier area read the Times Argus for local news, s ...
''. Its seven eras of ownership, much simplified, are sketched below


History

I The Williams-Williams partnership, which launched the Herald as a weekly on December 8, 1794, was brief but among the most interesting. The Rev. Samuel Williams (1743-1800) was a Federalist with high journalistic standards, but his newspaper, as was true of most during these times, barely touched upon local news or state issues. Judge Samuel Williams (1756-1800) was a distant cousin and political leader of early Vermont. Both Williamses are buried on North Main Street in Rutland in the same cemetery. II The era of printer William Fay, 1797–1840, was somewhat unfocused during a time when all transportation and commerce depended upon the horse. The paper was largely devoted to biblical parables, fables, poems and homilies. III George Beaman (1844 to 1856) provided welcome invigoration - for journalistic, political and technological reasons. He was a strong abolitionist who wanted to influence his Whig party (which soon became the Republican party) with anti-slavery sentiments. During his time the railroads arrived, ending rural isolation, providing a boom for commerce, industry and population. Due to Beaman's
boosterism Boosterism is the act of promoting ("boosting") a town, city, or organization, with the goal of improving public perception of it. Boosting can be as simple as talking up the entity at a party or as elaborate as establishing a visitors' bureau. ...
, the railroad was routed through Rutland and became its defining industry for the century to follow. IV During the era of George and Albert Tuttle (father and son, 1856–1882), the ''Herald'' moved to daily publication when the Civil War began and provided some distinguished reportage on the war. The paper was weakened during postwar depressions and several competitors sprang up. In 1877 the major competitor, the ''Globe'', and the Herald merged. Seeking new investors, Albert Tuttle netted the important P.W. Clement. V Mixing business, politics and publishing was what Percival W. Clement was all about; he owned the ''Herald'' from 1882 to 1927. A Rutland native, Clement also owned Rutland Railroad, the Clement National Bank and New York real estate interests and a brokerage house. He blatantly used his newspaper to support his own projects and political aspirations. He had a strong rivalry with the strong Proctor family of the Vermont Marble Co. Clement held several political offices, and ran for governor three times before being elected in 1918 at the age of 73. VI The time of William H. Field and his son William (1927-1947) was one of vastly increased professionalism. Also a Rutland native, Field had a successful career as executive with the ''Chicago Tribune'' and was co-founder of the nation's largest-circulation newspaper, the ''New York Daily News'', before returning to Rutland on the death of his father-in-law, Clement, in 1927. At the Herald he started an advertising department, modernized business operations and wrote the annual "Lilac Time" editorial. Bill Field engaged a distinguished typographer to re-design the paper, resulting in major national awards; and he moved the ''Herald'' into its present Wales Street building. VII The principled era of the Mitchell family began well before Robert W. Mitchell became owner-publisher in 1948 (in partnership with Leroy Noble, the business manager Field had brought from Chicago). Mitchell started at the ''Herald'' in 1935 as Vermont Press Bureau reporter in Montpelier, became editor in 1941, and was acting publisher during World War II, when Field enlisted. After 1950 Mitchell took a major role in rebuilding the economy of Rutland, which suffered a massive flood in 1947 and was losing most sources of employment - railroads and stoneworking and "smokestack" industries. He launched an era of some 10,000 editorials over 40 years that promoted the economy and helped rebuild regional confidence, and he gave leadership in commercial and industrial diversification. Mitchell's editorials also supported the ski industry and modern highways, and stood for human rights, amicable race relations and First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, assembly and petition. Mitchell opposed "chain" newspapers, but the ''Herald'' in 1964 acquired the Barre-Montpelier ''Times Argus'' to keep it in local ownership; and in 1975 his papers launched a joint Sunday edition. In 1986 the Mitchells acquired the Noble interests in both papers, fending off interest from national newspaper chains, based on a Noble-Mitchell handshake agreement. Bob Mitchell died in 1993, and his son R. John Mitchell, publisher since 1978 of the Times Argus, succeeded his father as ''Herald'' publisher. VIII In 2016, the Mitchell family sold the ''Herald'' and ''Times Argus'' to Vermont Community Media, owned by businessmen Chip Harris of New Hampshire and Reade Brower of Maine. In 2018, Vermont Community Media sold the ''Herald'' and ''Times Argus'' to Sample News Group, who owns the ''
Eagle Times The ''Eagle Times'' is a daily newspaper based in Claremont, New Hampshire, US, serving the Connecticut River Valley in New Hampshire and Vermont. It was published from the 1970s. It closed on July 10, 2009, and resumed publishing on October 12, 2 ...
''.


Notable contributors

In 2001, the ''Herald'' won a Pulitzer Prize for the work of journalist David Moats. Given for his series of editorials defending the
civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s decision in Vermont, this was the first Pulitzer given to the state for journalism. Award-winning cartoonist Jeff Danziger started his career with the Herald in 1975 and still contributes editorial cartoons and a weekly serial titled 'The Teeds: Tales of Agriculture for the Young and Old'. Susan Youngwood's 2007 article"Wikipedia: What do they know; when do they know it, and when can we trust it?"
, Vermont Sunday Magazine, Rutland Herald, April 1, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-05. “Perhaps the most important thing to understand about Wikipedia - both its genius and its Achilles heel - is that anyone can create or modify an entry. Anyone means your 10-year-old neighbor or a Nobel Prize winner - or an editor like me, who is itching to correct a grammar error in that Wikipedia entry that I just quoted. Entries can be edited by numerous people and be in constant flux. What you read now might change in five minutes. Five seconds, even.” — Susan Youngwood
detailing the anti-Wikipedia stance of professors at
Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...
has become a commonly cited description of the lack of expertise of Wikipedia editors.


Notes


References

* Smith, Claiborne. "David Moats: Defender of Civil Unions, A straight eye for a gay marriage", February 29, 2004, ''NewsDay''. * ABC Audit Report. Publisher's Statement of March 31, 2008.


External links


''Rutland Herald'' homepageHistoric Newspaper Pages (1836-1847) on Chronicling America
{{VT daily papers Rutland, Vermont Newspapers published in Vermont Publications established in 1794 1794 establishments in Vermont